Since its official opening in April 2009, Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary, located on the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg in Hartbeespoort, has widened its spectrum of primates to over 70 free-released specimens.

Read the rest »

Three years ago I went to teach English to the locals of a remote village in the  former Transkei. I was 54 and a tad old I thought to be having a mid-life crisis which symptoms included nothing more dramatic than a restlessness, a constant shifting about in the seat of my oh-so-comfortable existence.

I lived 6 months of the year in an idyllic provençal village in France and the other 6 in another idyllic village Kommetjie, 35 minutes from Cape Town. There was no epiphanaic moment, my goals were clear and simple: I wanted to go back to teaching and where better than somewhere in Africa. Read the rest »

“In 1995 we were out in False Bay, fishing around Seal Island, home to about 15 000 Cape Fur Seals at any one time, and we witnessed a huge Great White shark breaching next to our ski-boat.

As it happened within 2 metres from our boat, we first thought that the shark was in fact trying to jump into the boat, but later discovered a young seal pup alongside the Boat and realised that it was after the seal, and thankfully, not us …”

Read the rest »

Rob and Janet Cuthbertson work very closely with their local Zulu communities. They believe that low-impact tourism is an excellent way to provide much-needed employment in the area and to preserve the magnificent beauty of Zululand.

During our stay with them, they organised a guided canoeing trip for us with Temba, a Zulu guide who is perhaps the epitome of responsible eco-tourism. Not only has Temba set up his own tour operating company, he is also encouraging his community to become more involved in eco-tourism. Read the rest »

In February 2007, Janet Cuthbertson from Suni-Ridge Org. ZA (013-525 NPO) contacted us asking if we’d promote Leopard Walk Lodge in Zululand, KwaZulu Natal. At the end of the e-mail, there were a few paragraphs about how they rehabilated an old pineapple farm and gave it back to nature, forming a wildlife reserve.

Among other things, they also mentioned False Bay School, which Janet established in 1992. I was so impressed by their achievements, that I offered to build a pro-bono website for Suni-Ridge. Read the rest »

The Kawaza School Fund is a private fund started by Robin Pope Safaris in 1988 to assist in improvements at Kawaza Basic School, one of the local schools in the Nsefu Chiefdom. They sent us this article in the beginning of January 2008.

Huge improvements have been made at Kawaza since this time and the school is almost unrecognizable from the first photos that were taken. Over the past 5 years other schools have been added to the list of schools that Kawaza School Fund assists. Read the rest »

Without nature and wildlife, humans would cease to exist.

As a species, we are becoming far more aware of the affect that our lifestyle is having on the planet.

We need create a balance between the needs of humans and of nature and wildlife.

We need to take responsibility (together!) for what happens to our world, and protect it for future generations. Read the rest »